In 1999, RTÉ, Ireland’s public service broadcaster, aired journalist Mary Rafferty’s three-part special, States of Fear. The exposé included interviews with survivors of Ireland’s industrial schools,
state-funded Catholic institutions where poor and unwanted children
were deposited for most of the twentieth century, and where many
suffered physical, emotional, and sexual abuse. The series shocked
Ireland, drawing such an intense public response that, before the final episode aired, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) Bertie Ahern issued an official apology
on behalf of the Irish state for failing to intervene. The next year
the government established an inquiry into the alleged abuses, led by
High Court Justice Seán Ryan.
http://notchesblog.com/2016/07/14/who-knew-catholic-institutional-power-and-child-sexual-abuse-in-twentieth-century-ireland/
http://notchesblog.com/2016/07/14/who-knew-catholic-institutional-power-and-child-sexual-abuse-in-twentieth-century-ireland/
